Hartford Seminary Community Mourns the Deaths of James Fengahen, Walter Wink

The Hartford Seminary community has lost the following beloved members. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their friends and families.

The Rev. Canon James C. Fenhagen, who was Director of the Church and Ministry Program at Hartford Seminary in the late 1970s, has passed away. After he left the Seminary, he became Dean and President of General Theological Seminary. A Eucharist in his memory was celebrated in the Chapel of Good Shepherd at GTS earlier in May

The Rev. Dr. Walter Wink, who taught at Hartford Seminary from 1976 to 1980, passed away on May 10.

Fenhagen Obituary

James Fenhagen PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC - The Reverend James Corner Fenhagen, 82, died at Tidelands Community Hospice on April 5, 2012.

The Reverend Fenhagen was a native of Baltimore, MD and graduated from St. Paul's School. He attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington VA before receiving his BA from the University of the South, Sewanee, TN in 1951. He received a Master of Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1954, and in later years was awarded honorary degrees from the Virginia Theological Seminary, the University of the South School of Theology, and Washington and Lee University.

The Reverend Fenhagen served as Rector of several parishes in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and at St. Michael and All Angels' Episcopal Church in Columbia SC before becoming active in academic settings.

He was Director of the Church and Ministry Program at the Hartford Seminary Foundation.

He was named President and Dean of the General Theological Seminary in New York City in 1978 and retired from there in 1992.

He then became Director of the Cornerstone Project of the Episcopal Church Foundation, retiring in 1995. He came out of retirement to serve as President and Warden of the College of Preachers at Washington National Cathedral, from 2001-2004.

He authored five books and lectured at and led conferences in the US and abroad.

Locally, he served as the Chairman for the Georgetown County Mental Health Association and was a member of Friends of Brookgreen Gardens.

He attended Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church, Pawleys Island, SC.

The Reverend Fenhagen is survived by his wife Eulalie McFall Fenhagen; two sons, James Corner Fenhagen 111 and his wife Julianne (Montclair NJ) and John McFall Fenhagen (Georgetown, SC); two grandchildren, Aaron David Fenhagen and Jessica Moreno Trahan. He was predeceased in 2005 by a daughter Eulalie (Leila) Swinton Fenhagen.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church, PO Box 990, Pawleys Island, SC, 29585, or Tidelands Community Hospice Inc., 2591 N. Fraser St., Georgetown, SC, 29440.

Wink Obituary

Walter Wink, a groundbreaking figure in the field of New Testament theology, died on May 10th in Sandisfield, Mass., at the age of 76.

Wink's seminal work focused on the biblical "principalities and powers," the psycho-socio-political structures governing society throughout history, and the Christian response to such powers. He is considered a major contributor to progressive Christian thinking on current political and cultural issues.

Wink wrote about non-violence, lectured on the topic around the world, and coined the phrase "the myth of redemptive violence," addressing the underlying justification for the use of violence throughout our culture. He was active with nonviolence training throughout the world, including apartheid-era South Africa.

He also wrote and spoke on topics such as homosexuality and the Bible, psychology and biblical studies, and Jesus as a historical figure. His teaching focused on his pioneering method of Bible study incorporating Jungian interpretation, meditation, artwork, and movement. This method and its rationale were first presented in his controversial book, The Bible in Human Transformation (1973), which has since found wide acceptance.

Most of Wink's workshops were presented jointly with his wife, June Keener Wink, who specializes in creative movement.

He was Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City from 1976 until he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2005.

Wink was the author of over a dozen books, including the award-winning Naming the Powers (1982), Unmasking the Powers (1986), Engaging the Powers (1992), When the Powers Fall (1998), and The Human Being (2002).

He also received numerous awards for his work as a scholar and activist, including the Unitas Award from Union Theological Seminary, The United States Institute for Peace, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize from the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Born in Dallas, Texas in 1935, he graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1956 and was ordained a United Methodist minister in 1961. He served as Pastor of First United Methodist Church, in Hitchcock, Texas from 1962 to 1967.

He earned Master of Divinity and Ph.D. degrees from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he taught until 1976.

For many years he attended the South County Friends Meeting in Great Barrington, MA.

He is survived by his wife June, brother Dick, sons Steve and Chris, daughter Rebecca, stepsons Kim and Kurt, and eight grandchildren.